Spiral Investigations in Nature, Books, Art, and Math

One of the coolest math patterns in nature is the spiral, don’t you think? Investigate spirals with your kids by observing in nature, books, art, and making your own.

Math Spirals In Nature

You can find spirals in

a seashell

a spider web

flower petals

cauliflower florets

pine cones

seeds of a sunflower

Spirals Are Fibonacci Numbers.

Fibonacci numbers are the pattern where each number is the sum of the two previous numbers. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144 and on to infinity. The ratio between the numbers (1.618034) is called the golden ratio. Spirals are Fibonacci numbers.

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I had an A HA moment. I never knew what a fibonacci number was and could not figure out the pattern from Math Curse (one of my son’s favorite books). Thank you! And I never knew it related to spirals. In fact, I wasn’t able to make the connection even though it was pointed out to me.

I love your blog. It has been hard to find blogs that aren’t just for the preschool set (I have an 8,5 and 3 year old). Your blog’s content is so informative, creative and inspiring. Thank you so much for all your hard work. You have truly made a significant contribution to our family.

Trackbacks

[…] Then Doodles and Jots did a beautiful post on Fractals and I started to see and understand that math exists in nature. And Imagination Soup’s post caught my eye when she posted her Spiral Investigation. […]